Thank You for Always Being There
by SodapopsGirlOnly
Summary: Greaser guys are not the only one's who have it hard, greaser girls do too. How will Caitlin resist a certain greaser when she told herself she was through with guys? After Evie's and Steve's breakup, will they be able to last, or will the same mistakes come and go again? How will Sylvia cope with the way Dally's been acting? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

I walked around Will Rogers high and knew it was going to be the same day like all the others. Boring. The only good thing that came out of today was that was that me, Sylvia, and Evie were going out tonight to the Nightly Double. They were playing a horror film. I loved scary movies but the fact that we weren't going to watch the movie, we were only going to get Evie's mind off of Steve Randle because they broke up and she found out he had been using her. Sylvia and Dallas Winston were a done deal too. I would never admit to it but I was kind of happy that they were single, mainly cause I wasn't so left out anymore. It's not that I was ugly or anything, I got asked out almost everyday. But once the guy asked, and I said no, they didn't bother me none after that. I don't ever say yes because I don't wanna fall for the trick like Evie and Sylvia. I got to my locker and got my fourth period books out. Algebra. I knew that we had a substitute and when ever we have a substitute for that class they always call attendance. "Hey Evie!" I called as she was making her way down the hall. She turned to face me and gave that look of 'whats up?' "Can you cover for me? I'm gonna ditch the rest of the day." As I said this Steve made his way down the hall with a girl and his hands were wrapped around her waist. I knew Evie was trying to hold back tears. As tough as everyone thought Evie was, she could breaking down at any time. She could do good in a fight, depending on her competition. The girl tightened around Steve's arms looked at us and smirked. Evie just simply nodded her head at me and headed to the bathroom probably to realign her eyeliner.

I headed for the bathroom and just stayed there until the hallways cleared out and the teachers were in there classroom. I got a piece of paper out of my book bag and started writing,' _please excuse Caitlin from school the rest of the day. She has a fever and was permitted to walk home from school. Nurse Colemen.' _The only good thing about my hand writing is I can make it look like anybody's I want too. I headed out of the bathroom and my teacher stopped me. "Young lady, where do you think you are going?" She was one of my favorite teachers but she was really making me mad right now. "I'm sick. I've been given permission to walk home." I handed her the paper and she just looked at me. She kept looking from me to the paper, probably deciding whether or not I was telling the truth. She just nodded at me and let me pass.

I was almost to my house when a red stingray pulled up next to me. I started walking faster to the point where I was almost running full speed. They piled out of the car and I think I counted 2 of them. And one of them had a blade. Great. I played soccer and track but I couldn't outrun the two Socs. They pinned me to the ground and put a knife to my neck. I had to much street smart to know not to scream. "We ain't gonna hurt you but you're gonna listen to what we say okay?" I nodded knowing it was the only right thing to do. "Don't scream." I was afraid. I wasn't afraid to get physically hurt, everyone in Tulsa should be used to that, but I was afraid to get _emotionally_ hurt. Just as that thought ran in my mind a thousand times over, some guy hit the Soc sitting on me over the head with a broken glass bottle. The main Socs friend went to hit the guy but he easily dodged and hit the Soc square in the face with the broken bottle and I knew he was gonna need stitches. They guy rubbed his face from where he got punched by one of the Socs and helped me up.

"You okay little miss?" the guy asked me.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thank you." I replied. I looked at the greaser. He didn't look like the typical greaser. There are greasers you find like Tim Shepard or Dallas Winston who don't have a care in the world. Then there are others, who are tough, but don't necessarily have cold eyes, and who can care about people.

"Don't mention it. What's your name kid?"

"Caitlin. You?"

"Two-Bit. Two-Bit Matthews."

"I've seen you around school. You cause a lot of trouble with Socy girls." I said remembering the time when he bothered a Soc named Alison so much that she screamed during our third period History class which earned her a detention. I also remember finding her in the bathroom crying because she got a detention. I guess it hurt her 'reputation.'

"Guess ya heard of me then. I'm not hard to miss." Two-Bit said while cocking his eyebrow and flashing a grin.

I smiled at him. "Well thank you Two-Bit. But I should get going." I turned around and Two-Bit grabbed hold of my arm.

"I'll see you around?" he asked like he wanted to actually.

"Definitely." I smiled at him, turned around, and resumed my walk home thinking over what just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

(Sorry this is such a short chapter, I'll make a longer one next week, maybe two longer ones, but it's really late and I have to wake up early tomorrow! Review and enjoy!)

When I got home I wasn't expecting my sister Emily to be home. She looked up with a confused face. "I got home from school early. Nurse said I had a fever and excused me from school." She nodded her head and I walked up the stairs into my room. I took a shower and decided on wearing light blue skinny jeans and a blue 2-inch trip tank top(look at my images to see the outfit). It didn't have to be nothin' fancy, it was just a movie. I had to go pick up Evie and Sylvia for the movie and I was running low on gas. I put on blush and a little bit of eyeliner and mascara. I wasn't big on makeup even though Evie and Sylvia like to wear ten pounds of it. I thought if you were wearing makeup than you were hiding who you really were and you were basically fake. I never told my friends that though. I went downstairs and mumbled to my sister 'be home soon' and before I walked out of the door I heard her say 'don't do anything I wouldn't do.'

Xx

I pulled up to the DX and parked my car right in front of a gas pump. A guy that looks about my age came up to me. "Need any help mam?" At least this guy was a gentleman. Barely any greasers like that left in Tulsa. "No thank you I got it." I smiled at the young man. He nodded at me and turned back into the DX. He's pretty cute, but you could tell he would be tough competition to all the girls who are standing behind a magazine stand whispering, smiling, giggling, and staring at the boy. And no guy is just worth that much trouble. I saw the boy talking to someone who was behind the counter with him but I couldn't make out who it was. But he went back into the garage. When I was finished I walked inside to pay for the gas. I put the money on the counter and the boy with the nametag of Soda put the money in the cashier. He looked a little distracted, or annoyed with the girls who kept swooping over him. I turned around and looked at the girls. There were three of them, they looked to be Sophmores. Two were brunette and one was blonde. They were so short, barely tall enough to being aligned with Soda's chin.

"Do you ever get used to all the attention? I mean, you get it by sophmores, I can't begin to wonder how many people your age come in here all the time." The boy just looked at me and smiled. Not one of those grins, but a cute, friendly smile.

"Comes and goes everyday. I like the attention, gives me something to do while at work. But those girls are really young, its kind of creepy." I knew what he was saying. Some regular greasers come into The Dingo all the time when I have my shift just to try to flirt with me and try to get me to go to Bucks. Its fun sometimes, but it can get really annoying. "Hey girls." They three sophmores looked my way and gave me a confused look. "Would you mind leaving him alone. He's got a lot of work to get to and it is a little ignorant to distract him." The girls gave me a dirty look before leaving the DX. "You didn't have to do that. But thank you." He smiled at me again. That smile made me drown in my thought. I rethought that last statement. I just met this guy and I was already acting strange. "Anytime." I said flashing a smile. Just as I said that a guy came out of the garage. _Steve._ Oh great. Steve looked happy actually when he came into the store. Then he looked at me. "You." He muttered to himself. "Steve that's rude." Soda said to him. "That's Evie's friend." Steve said while glaring at me. "Oh." Soda said. _Oh?_ He cheated on my best friend and he gets to be mad at me. "You're acting like its my fault you cheated on Evie? Don't blame you mistakes on me. Lets see how long you and that Soc last when you meet her parents." I hissed at him and walked out of the DX. I was just about fuming with anger.

"Hey!" someone shouted at me whole I was walking to my car. I turned around to see Soda jogging towards me. I didn't wanna talk to him or Steve. "Steve's pretty mad." He said. I could just about flip out on him. "Really? You're sticking up for him. He didn't just make a mistake to somebody, that somebody was my best friend. Just leave me alone!" I shouted at Soda. Not that I meant to, but I was really angry. I jogged to my car and turned the key in the ignition. Before I drove out, I heard Steve say, "There's finally one chick that's not into you Soda. Steve looked amused out of this. Soda just looked confused and disappointed. Truth was I didn't even know how to sort out my feelings. I didn't what my feelings were towards Soda. And I pushed this any further I might actually start to like him, and that was my worst fear.


	3. The Night's Only Beginning

I got to Evie's house and went up to the door and walked inside. The good thing was her parents wouldn't yell at me because it was practically my home too since me and Evie were so close. Whenever my dad was drunk or something my sister went to her fiancé Reece's house and left me to go to Evie's. My sister's fiancé was like my own brother- overprotective- and smart ass. But Evie's parents knew the situation and allowed it, not that they wouldn't anyway. "Evie's in her bedroom gettin' ready." I just nodded and ran up the stairs. Tripping while at it, and I heard Evie's brother Kyle laugh at me. "Shut it." I spat at him. I was mostly joking, that's the relationship between me and him. We make fun of each other to amuse ourselves and we never take it offensively. Kyle walked down the stairs and missed a step and fell. I was laughing and had tears streaming down my face. "Shut it." He said and smiled himself, which was rare. He was a part of the Shepard Gang and rarely smiled, cause mostly everything that happened in that gang was strictly business and serious. That's why Tim never told me anything. I practically was raised with Tim and as Evie liked to put it 'the only person that could bring his soft side out.' Which was kinda true.

As I got into her bedroom she had just finished pulling down her shirt. "You almost ready? You take forever to get ready." I said while throwing a pillow at her that hit her in the head. She pouted because she said it ruined her hair. "Oh you're hair looks fine you cry baby." I said pretending to make a puppy dog face. "Says you with you naturally perfect straight hair that comes down to the lower end of your back and your blonde hair with brown highlights." She said making another pouty face. I just rolled my eyes and made my way down the stairs with Evie trailing behind me. "We're going out mom, be back by 12." Evie almost made it out the door and her mom called out, "Don't be home a second later." And the door slammed right behind us.

We were driving down Sylvia's road and we already heard the sound of a whiskey bottle being broken. We pulled up in front of her drive and saw Dallas Winston in her front yard arguing with Sylvia. I assumed he cheated on her again, she broke up with him, and then she cheated on him to get revenge. Tomorrow they'll love each other again. But things changed when Dallas was getting in her face. His face was filled with anger and redness from probably screaming. Me and Evie jumped out of the car when Dallas shoved Sylvia and she fell to the ground. Evie ran straight to Sylvia and _I _went to Dallas. "What the hell did you shove her for!" I screamed at him. "Move bitch. I don't have time for you, dollface." I couldn't believe what he was saying. I mean, I expected him to act this way towards me but Sylvia? I know Dallas Winston is known for not caring about people, but I know he loves Sylvia. And I was pulled back a lot when he pushed her. And when he said that to me I slapped him. Evie and Sylvia looked at me in complete shock and turmoil. "You don't push her no matter what she did. Obviously she did it cause you screwed up pretty bad so if she gets hit cause she made a mistake then you'll get hit when you make a mistake." After I said that I slapped him again. He growled and moved forward, and I think he was doing it to scare me because when I didn't back up when he moved forward he stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. Dallas was actually walking away. I was expecting him to hit me, I could take it. When my dad hit me or my sister we got right back up, mostly because we were used to it and it didn't faze us anymore. I'm guessing Dallas didn't hit any harder than my dad did. They were about the same height, they had the same build-almost. In trying to deal with Dallas and what he did I almost forgot about Sylvia.

I turned around and ran toward her. "You alright Sylv?" she look like she had a bruise on her arm from where he pushed her, and a bump on her head. "I'm fine." She said in between sobs. I looked at her not believing any of it. "Really I am. Can we just go please?" I reluctantly walked to the door and got into the driver's seat. I started the car and we took off down the road.

Xx

We climber under the fence to the Nightly Double and picked our seats. A few seats in front of us were Steve, Dallas, Sodapop Curtis, Ponyboy Curtis, and Two-Bit. Great. Sylv and Evie didn't need any of their bullshit. I still couldn't stop thinking sbout what happened at Sylvia's house. Her eyes were red from crying and it made me want to slap Dallas Winston a third time. When I saw his face it was still red from when I slapped him. I didn't feel guilty at all. Why should I? he hit my best friend. He deserved it. And while I was on a roll I should've went right along and slapped Steve for Evie.

I snapped out of my gaze to someone snapping their fingers in my face. "Caitlin? Caitlin!" Sylvia screamed louder the second time. "What?" I yelled back. "I asked if you could go get cokes and popcorn. Steve and…" she trailed off for a second. "_Dallas_ went up to the stand and we don't want to see them." I mumbled 'yeah sure' and took their money while walking to the stand. "Do you believe she had the guts to slap me? I couldn't believe it." They weren't moving ahead in the line so I went in front of them. I wasn't waiting forever. I knew they saw me but I didn't care. I was only up there for Sylvia and Evie. "Wow Dallas I can't believe it either." I'm pretty sure it was Sodapop who said that. Wasn't he supposed to be the happy go lucky one? I turned around in disbelief. "Maybe if that guy right there would keep his hands off a lady I would've kept my hands off him." After I said that it was my turn to order so I ordered 2 cokes and 2 popcorns.

I was walking back to my friends when someone grabbed my arm. I was ready to drop what was in my hands and swing but I realized it was Soda. "What." I asked more sharply them I should've. "Did he really hit Sylvia?" I shook my head. Of coarse Dally would leave that out of the story he told them. "Not exactly. He pushed her. But she still has the bumps and bruises." And by that I meant she was hurt physically and mentally. "I'm sorry I didn't know." This made me madder. He wouldn't know, he's a guy, he doesn't care. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to and you're not the one who should be apologizing." It was a little harsh but I was angry. And I was kind of known for being an angry strong greasy girl. Not that I was a whore or anything, but I could fight. "I'm sorry again. Let me walk you home tonight after the movie?" he gave me a small smile. But all I could think about was Sylvia and Dallas and how he was still going to be friends with him after he had hurt my friend. All guys are the same and I wasn't gonna make that mistake just because he was probably the cutest greaser in Tulsa and cuter than all the Socs, too. I wasn't going to let that get in the way of my common sense. "Sorry I would rather not get played. I know you're reputation. You're known for being with half the girls in Tulsa at bucks. You're just like Dallas and you're just like every other guy in Tulsa." And with that I turned around and returned to Sylvia and Evie.


	4. Forget Me, Not

When the movie was over we found that my car had been keyed. This used to be my dad's car but he gave it to me-surprisingly- when he got a new car. If he found out about this he would be pissed. I sighed and kneeled down by the car. Someone keyed it saying 'GREASER GIRL' and I thought it was just a couple of lame Socs trying to have fun. "Probably Dallas." Sylvia said. I turned around confused. "It says Greaser Girl, wouldn't most likely be a Soc?" She sighed and it looked like she was trying to hold back tears. That was really weird for her, cause whenever Dally would cheat on her she never cried. She mostly just got pay back. I never I thought I'd see the day where Sylvia cried. She saw I noticed the tears and she blinked them back fiercely. "It's his type. Whenever he keys Tim's car he makes it looks like someone else did it. We better get goin'. Looks like we're gonna have to walk too. Someone slashed your tires." I was abound with anger. If I ever see Dallas Winston again he is gonna get whats comin' to him. Or better yet I'll just tell Tim, I was definitely not a snitch, but I knew it would make Tim and Dallas mad.

We started walking home when a car came up right by us and screamed 'GREASERS'. We mainly shrugged it off. We were used to it. Socs even tried to hit on us sometimes, I guess they all thought we were whores. I was surprised to see Two-Bit, Soda Curtis, Steve, Dallas, and Ponyboy Curtis come running up to us. We were confused for a second but then we saw the Socs were already heading for me, Evie, and Sylvia. _Great._ There hear to save us. I laughed aloud. They weren't coming here to help us, they were just coming here to pick a fight tonight. Typical.

"Hey girls. Need any help?" Two-Bit started laughing like it was so hilarious. "That'd be nice. If you were capable of it." Evie shot at him. I knew she wasn't really making it towards any of them, mainly just to Steve. Steve gave her a despondent look. His eyes were sad, yet filled with anger.

"Hey greasers, need a haircut?" I don't get why they say the same thing over and over when they try to pick a fight with us. They can't come up with other cheesy stuff to say? God there annoying. The boys also never replied. They just sat there staring at the Socs with anger and detest in their eyes.

"Or maybe we could take these girls off your hands? Mhm?"

I didn't even know what really happened after that. All I knew was that Steve and Dallas swung first at the Socs and Two-Bit, Ponyboy and Sodapop were not far behind. There was one Soc who didn't have a partner to fight with looked scared, nervous, and confused. He didn't know if he should join in in the fight or come over to us. He had black hair that was longer than most Socs, but not long enough. He had light hazel eyes. Looked like a Soc, dressed like a Soc.

The kid came over to us and pulled out a knife. It looked like the greasers were winning this fight, and it looked like 2-3 Socs were knocked out. I think the kid came over to us because he was scared of getting unconscious. When the Soc came over to us he took me by my hands, went behind me, and held the blade to my stomach. This kid was dumb. You never hold it to the person's stomach, you hold it to their neck. It makes it harder to get away. That was one of the main differences between Socs and greasers. We had common sense, and they didn't. Alright, we sometimes had common sense, but we damn well had more street smart then them.

"Don't move, savvy?" _Savvy?_ What kind of Soc world did he come from? His own kind would knock him out if they heard him using that language. But why was a Soc talking like that in the first place?

"I said savvy?" I nodded my head to make sure I didn't get cut in the stomach. Evie screamed Steve and he came running over while he wiped his nose that had blood on it. I was taken back a little that Evie called Steve over here. I guess her being scared was taking over her emotions. She barely could say his name without sobbing.

Steve was about to ask why he called him over here in the middle of a fight but then he met my eyes. His gaze went right to the blade the Soc was holding to my stomach.

"Shit." Steve murmered. "Soda, Dallas!" he screamed. I guess they had taken out the rest of the guys because they didn't follow them over here. Soda and Dallas said 'shit' in unison. "Now y'all are gonna leave and don't bother me or I'll use this knife!" the kid stuttered as he said this. Y'all? You have got to be kidding me. How come this kid also got to react scared when I'm the one with the blade to my stomach.

"No fucking way." Dallas said. I guess that was pay back for slapping him. I had no regrets though. He deserved it for hitting my best friend. "DALLAS!" Sylvia shouted at him. "She's my best friend and you can't just leave her to get stabbed by some Socs!" she yelled even louder. "The hell with her." Dally mumbled and started to walk away.

"Pony, you go with Dal, we'll be fine, savvy?" Soda said to his kid brother, probably just trying to keep him away from being stabbed. Pony merely nodded and walked off too.

If nobody was gonna help then I guess I would have to help myself. I elbowed the Soc in the rib. He stepped backwards slightly and I slapped him in the face as hard as I kid. I heard someone whistle behind me. I just laughed and that's when I got the pain in my side. I tried to walk backwards to get away from the Soc that could get up any second and the sharp pain returned. I looked to my saide where it seemed to be coming from and I saw a whole part of my shirt bloody. I saw the blade the Soc had on the ground and it also had blood on it. "Shit." I said mainly to myself. "What. What's wrong?" I didn't reply to Evie. "Dammit Caitlin, what is wrong!?" before I could speak I fell to the ground and was out cold.

**xxXxx**

_5 hours later (Evie's POV)_

Caitlin was still out cold and all I was really paying attention to was her heart rate and the noise that kept going, _beep beep beep._ I stared at it every moment to make sure that that noise didn't stop beeping and that it didn't go red. I was so nervous that she could die. The doctors said she was stabilized but I just needed to make sure.

Steve and some of his friends were nice enough to stay in the room until she woke up. Steve, Soda, and Two-Bit were also in the room with me. I think they felt kind of guilty because they hadn't made a move to help, and if they did, Caitlin probably wouldn't be here right now. Soda looked the most guiltiness, if that's even a word. He had this sad and worried look in his eyes. I thought he liked her for a second. But then I realized that Soda could have any girl and he would randomly pick Caitlin? She was way more than beautiful for him, but he could still pick any girls he wanted and Caitlin had anything but luck. And it would kind of weird for Caitlin to date him, being as me, her Sylvia, AND Sandy were all bet friends. After what Sandy did to Soda she moved to Florida and we lost touch. It didn't bother us much though. We almost hated Sandy for what she did.

My mind drifted to Sylvia. She left about two hours ago so she wouldn't miss her shift at Buck's. she was already late and she didn't want to be anymore late then she already had been. I wondered how Sylvia was with him runnin' out on us like that last night. She was porbably horrified on the inside even though she would never admit it. Sylvia had that, mean, cold look to her, but you had to be close to her to go to her soft side like me and Caitlin. She sometimes let it slip in front of Dallas, but that was rare, and she was smarter than to let that happen. I remember one time when we were at Buck's, Sylvia got really ripped and told Dally she loved him. He was shocked at first, but right after he headed out the door. She didn't remember any of it, at least that's what she was leading on. I guess Sylvia was pretty smart even though she acted dumb. She hated the fact that I never listened to her about Steve. She said she hated the fact I got to close to him too fast and that's why I always get hurt. I was the softest one out of all of us. I guess Caitlin was the toughest one, had more street smart and common sense, and she never got hurt from guys what's so ever. I think that's why Sylvia favors her more. I think Sylvia envy's her. Caitlin is also the most beautiful out of all of us. Half the guys she gets asked out by are some of the cutest guys in Tulsa, and she ALWAYS rejects. I wished that some of the guys that asked her out would ask me out.

When I thought of guys asking me out, my thoughts drifted to Steve. I kept replaying the thought over and over in my mind, why did he cheat on me? Was I really not good enough? Everytime I thought of that, I felt like I wouldn't to burst out crying. Ever since we broke up, I haven't looked at other guys, I haven't talked to them besides my brother and dad, I haven't been sleeping, eating, nothing. What killed me the most was how fine he looked. And I didn't mean cute, I meant he was okay with the whole situation. He didn't care that we had broken up, he didn't care he cheated on me, he didn't hurt at all like me, and most of all he didn't care at all. He always gave me these looks filled with anger. What hurt the most was, I knew iloved him. And I knew he hadn't felt the same way. And I knew I looked like a then and there Steve looked at me.

"Hey… um Evie… could we um.. go talk?" his voice sounded flustered and nervous. "Sure." I mumbled, barely a whisper. Two-Bit looked at my, a look of pity, and I wanted to kick myself then. Did I really look that broken up?

When we made it out to the hallway, we stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. "Why did you call me out here Steve." I asked, waiting for an answer. He started playing with the zipper on his jacket, which he only did when he was nervous. Leave it to me to know something as little as that.

"I wanted to apologize." That's all he said? 'I wanted to apologize.' I was beyond mad.

"Apologize for what?" Steve just looked to the ground and didn't respond to me. I might still care about him, but I didn't have time for this. "Look Steve, Caitlin could wake up any moment and if you're not gonna say anything else then I'm gonna get back to her."

I turned to walk away and Steve pulled me around to face him by my arm and kissed me. I knew it wasn't right and I shouldn't give in so easily, but at that moment I honestly didn't care. I was just so happy to be kissing him again that none of it mattered. Nothing. Of coarse I didn't forget that he cheated on me, and I wasn't gonna forgive him right away, but I didn't care. I wanted to be with him again.

"I just needed to do that again. I'm sorry Evie. For everything. For cheating on you, for letting you get away. I love you." Those three words echoed through my mind and replayed over and over. Did he really just say that? Was I dreaming?

"I love you too, Steve." We kissed again and Two-Bit had to come and interrupt us. "Were you guys ever on thinking about coming back into the room?" we broke the kiss and Steve took me by the hand back to the hospital room. I sat on Steve's lap. I was gonna start talking when Caitlin's eyes fluttered open. "Evie?" she whispered in a low, raspy voice.


	5. Where It All Began

_Sylvia's POV_

I walked down Sutton Street making my way to Buck's. I was working 3rd shift and I was already a few hours late because of Caitlin ending up in the hospital. It bugged me something awful that Dally just walked away instead of helping us. Caitlin could've _died_ and Dally just turned around without lookin' back.

I thought about Dally all the way to Buck's place. It was about two in the morning and the place was packed. I didn't really feel like playin' bartender tonight and gettin' hit on. But I needed the tips. No other way to pay bills without em'.

When I walked through the door I hoped that Buck wasn't too mad at me. He started walking towards me. Great timing. "Where the hell have you been?" Buck asked taking a swig of his beer. I could smell it on his breath. "Sorry got caught up in a fight." Before I let him reply I walked behind the bar and put the satchel around my waist where I put my tips. "Hey baby, get me some of the good stuff, would ya?" This guy flashed me a grin that showed me his messed up teeth and a wave of beer flooded me. I turned around to get just a regular beer going against what the guy wanted, but he was so drunk he probably wouldn't notice. But by the time I could get the beer the guy grabbed me by the waist roughly and spun me around. "Get off me before I throw you off me." I said to the guy. He just grinned and moved his hands lower. I took the bottle and hit the guy over the head with it. "When I said get off me I meant it." I hissed at the guy and started to blend more drinks.

I saw _him _walking towards me. I thought maybe he was coming to apologize, but then I thought this was Dally, he didn't care enough to apologize. But then I also saw the girl draped around his shoulders. It hurt, but I would never admit it. "Hey Sylv, mind getting' us a room?" I stared at him in disbelief. Why didn't he go to any of the other waiters? Why did he come to me? It wasn't hard to figure out he was doing it on purpose. "Room 8." He said cooly. Except, that was mine and his room. Bastard. I took the set of keys and headed up the stairs to the room. I opened the door and moved out of the way to let them get through. The girl walked through and I realized who she was. It was a girl named Mary that I fought last week. Shit. Dallas would do somethin' as stupid as this. He probably just figured that I'd fighther again, but I wouldn't let Dallas have that control over me.

Dally stopped in his tracks before going inside. "Aren't you comin' baby?" Mary asked Dal eyeing me like a hawk, thinking I'd strangle her at any moment. "Yeah give me a minute." He said before without looking at her, he kept his eyes fixed on me. Mary just closed the door to give us some privacy, but was probably keeping her ear on the door. "Are we gonna have the chance to talk, Sylv?" I looked at him like a mad woman. Was he being serious? He was gonna have this talk with me when he had a girl with him in the other room? I give Dally credit, he had nerve. "We'll talk when you aren't foolin' around with other girls." And with that I turned around and returned to behind the bar.

xxXxx

_Caitlin's Pov_

I woke up in a hospital bed with wires hooked up to me and blurry vision. It took it a minute to concentrate. Why was I in the hospital, and why would Evie bring me to the hospital, she knew it would just make my dad unhappy. And I also knew it wasn't Sykvia, because she hates these places too. I saw Two-Bit, Soda, Steve, and Evie. Except Evie and Steve were holding hands. "What did I miss?' I said while trying to sit up and I quickly regretted it. Evie ran to my side and I lifted up my hospital gown, not so anyone could see anything, but so I could see why I could barely move and when I did it made me run out of breath. I saw a huge bandage over the right part of my stomach. "What the hell happened?" I asked poking at the bandage. "Stop poking at it, Caitlin." Evie scolded me but I wanted to take the bandage off to see what happened. "Don't take it off either." She said slapping my hand. I pretended to rub my hand like a little kid would.

Evie looked at me confused. "You don't remember what happened?" I shook my head so she would understand for the hundredth time. Now I know why I was always called a smart ass. "Last thing I remembered was walking home from the movies and Socs came. But that's it." I said laying back and resting my eyes. "Kid that knifed you had drugs on him, coulda had some on the blade." When I looked at Two-Bit I could see that he wasn't playing around like he always was. God was it really that big of a deal? And what the hell when was I knifed? "Alright, well when can I leave this stupid hospital?" I asked not wanting to stay here any longer than I had too. Thank goodness the doctor came in. "When can I leave?" was all I said. She looked at me weird, like I was crazy or something, but I really did hate this place. The last time I was here was when my mom…. "Uh.. All I need you to do is sign a couple papers and then you're good to go." She smiled while handing me the papers. "Thank God." I muttered too really myself not to anyone else.

I tried to sit up because the last thing I wanted to be in these gowns any longer. But I failed again. I tried to fight through the pain but it didn't seem to be working. "Here let me help you." Soda said offering his hand. He sat me up on the bed but it still hurt like hell but the only difference was he couldn't feel the pain so he didn't stop lifting me up. "Thank you." I said looking him up and down, not that I was checking him out, but I figured that the only reason he helped was because he had a reason too. I put one foot on the ground but it took me a couple minutes to get the other foot by it. Man, you never know how bad getting knifed is until it actually happens to you. I tried to stand up and I was a little wobbly. I took a step but it escalated into me falling over and Soda breaking my fall. I looked up into his blue eyes. I thought maybe he was different, but then I actually got my common sense back._ There all the same._ I thought to myself. I muttered a thanks and reached for my clothes but they were too far away. "Here let me help you." Two-Bit said handing them to me. Soda helped me to the bathroom and left me to get changed. I returned and we left, forgetting to sign the papers in the process.

xxXxx

We were making our way over to Buck's and it was about 12 at night. I had just found out that Evie and Steve were back together and I didn't agree with it all. She was just gonna end up getting' hurt again. While Steve was Evie's date, Two-Bit had Kathy, me and Soda were dateless. Which I was okay with, but I think he felt left out, but I didn't even care. I think Sylvia was working tonight, but I wasn't sure, I talked to her in a week since I got out of the hospital. The pain comes and goes, and I limp sometimes, but I could do everything on my own.

When we walked into Buck's I wave of nausea hit me. I guess not being to Buck's in a week does that to you, and even though I've been there a countless number of times, no one ever gets used to it.

The first person I spotted was Sylvia working behind the bar. I caught her staring at Dally when he wasn't looking, and Dally looking at her when she wasn't looking. But dally also had his arm around another girl. He was such a wuss. He was only doing this because he wanted Sylvia to make the first move because he didn't wanna look like he cared. Everyone took off to either get a drink or to go dance to Country Girl (Shake It for Me) by Luke Bryan. Leave it to Buck to play something like that. And that left me and Soda. But soon enough, Soda left me to go to the bar. I sat down in a chair at a table that some random couple were making out at.

I sat there for a while bored. I was a party girl for sure, but tonight I wasn't feelin' up to it. Before I knew it Soda returned with two beers in his hand. Evie told me he wasn't much of a drinker, but I guess he didn't feel like himself tonight either. "Here ya go." He said smiling and handing me a beer. "Thanks." I said not looking up from my drink. We sat there in awkward silence for a little bit before Soda started conversation. "Can I ask you a question?" I looked at him questionably, "Shoot." I replied. "How come you won't go out with me? Every time I ask you have come up with a true answer, I instead of just saying you had other plans, but you still won't say yes." Oh, and the conversation turns. "Don't take it offensively cause it's not you. Just look at Evie and Steve, and what they go through in their relationship, or Dallas and Sylvia. In the end, they both end up hurt. I don't wanna end up that way. All guys are the same, and they are all gonna hurt you."

"That's not true. So you just figured on being single for the rest of your life, never get married, or have any kids?"

I smiled at his comment because my answer was straight forward. "Basically."

Soda eyed me. Probably not believing what I was saying, but it was the truth. "I'll tell you what. Go out with me once, just once, and if it turns out horrible and you hate it you don't have to do it again. But if it doesn't, I get another date." I didn't really know what to say.

"Oh, I don't know Soda…" I said wanting to refute.

"Oh come on, you can't hate something until you try it." He had a point. And as stupid as everyone made him out to be for dropping out of school, he was actually pretty smart, and convincing too.

"Alright. One chance, and one chance only. And if I it totally sucks, I never have to do it again. Soda smiled like he had just won the Lottery. "You never have to do it again." I sat there rethinking this over. After how much time I took out of convincing myself I would never date a guy, here I was about to be going on a date. "I'll pick you up Thursday night since there's no school on Friday, savvy?" I nodded and took a sip of my drink. I think Soda thought I would get drunk right away, but I was a heavy drinker, it took a lot to get me drunk. Right then and there, You'll Think Of Me, by Keith Urban came on. It was my favorite song and of coarse everyone had someone to dance with.

"Come on." Soda said grabbing my hand and pulling me out to the dance floor.

I put my hands around Soda's neck while he put his hands around my waist, low. It felt like I was at prom or something, oh god. We were swaying back and forth at first, at first. "You ready?" I looked at him confused. "For what?" Soda smiled and quickly spun me around. It happened so fast that I hadn't had time to react and my heart was beating faster. It scared me for a second cause he didn't give me a heads up. I smiled at him and shook my head at the same time. Soda looked like he was debating on something. That's when Soda leaned down. I was nervous, of coarse I've kissed someone before, but it's not like it meant anything. But this time I felt different, my heart was beating faster and I was nervous. And I don't get nervous, at all. I decided to just go for it. I leaned forward and kissed Soda. It felt like it went on forever. His lips were soft, not that I was surprised I heard a lot of girls say they were. We pulled apart after a long time. "Wow." Was all he said. I didn't know how to react.

Steve whistled and he had a wolfish smile on his face along with Two-Bit. "Finally." Is what Evie mustered up. I just smiled, because I didn't blush ever. But it looked like Soda was blushin' up a storm and all I could do was laugh.

When we all decided to leave Soda walked me home. We went up the porch steps and stopped. "Thanks for walking me home Soda I…." Is all I could say before he cut me off by kissing me.

We were shortly interrupted by my front door opening. Out of everybody, it had to be my dad and sister standing at the door. "Caitlin, I think it's time you come in." My dad said, with a hatred look on his face, and I'd known he had been drinking. I think that's why my sister was at the door. "I should go. By Caitlin." Soda smiled before walking off the porch and heading down the street. My dad game me a look that told me to get my ass inside now. "What were you thinking.." Was what my sister got out when I walked through the door and the most strongest headache appeared out of no where. And suddenly I couldn't wait to see Soda again.


End file.
